Alicia Murphy, 22, escaped a house fire by jumping out of a window with her newborn baby in her arms (Image: Alicia Murphy)
A courageous mother has recounted the terrifying moment she jumped from her bedroom window clutching her baby as a fire ravaged their family home.
Alicia Murphy, 22, and her partner Jordan Payne, 27, were sound asleep with their newborn son Alec Murphy-Payne at her mother’s residence in Cardiff when they were abruptly roused by her mother and brother’s cries for assistance. They soon realised a fire had ignited on the floor beneath them, rapidly engulfing the entire house and endangering the seven occupants that night, including her mother Charlotte, sister Hana Bedford, and brothers Ryan and Leo who were sleeping downstairs.
The family was first alerted to the inferno by one of her brother’s dogs – upon waking to the sound of screams, Alicia’s immediate concern was ensuring her baby’s safety.
She shared with Wales Online: “I was woken up to my mum and brother screaming for my boyfriend.
“We didn’t know it was a fire at first and then my boyfriend opened the bedroom door and loads of black smoke came in and obviously we all panicked. Me and my boyfriend screamed at each other to get the baby so we managed to get him from his cot.”, reports the Mirror.
Seven family members were sleeping at her mum’s house in Cardiff when the blaze broke out (Image: Supplied)
“We rushed to the window and I hung out the window as much as I could with the baby in my arms but obviously because the window was open that’s where all the smoke was going to escape.
“Because there was so much smoke coming towards us I tried to shout twice but I knew I was going to inhale too much smoke and that was the worst decision I could make. So I then just had to make the quick instinctive choice to jump out the window with the baby in my arm.
“It was the upstairs bedroom window and my partner managed to get out of the window after me. I don’t know too much of what went on after that because I ended up going to my neighbours to try and get some clothes. So I don’t know what happened with the rest of my family after that.”
Remarkably, Alicia, who is expecting another child, managed to land in such a way that her unborn baby was not harmed, and subsequent scans indicated that everything is developing as it should. Unfortunately, both she and her brother did suffer injuries.
She was informed by relatives that following her exit, Jordan and a sibling re-entered the home to assist their mother in escaping through her own bedroom window.
Her boyfriend Jordan, pictured with son Alec, dashed back inside the house to help other family members escape (Image: Alicia Murphy)
Alicia’s sister, in a moment of panic, sought refuge in her room, while another of Alicia’s brothers made an escape from a different upstairs window. Her boyfriend, Jordan, sustained serious injuries trying to aid family members amidst the flames.
Alicia recounted the physical toll taken on the family: “I had a burnt hand and a burnt ear. My mum had a broken toe.”
Regarding her sister, she added, “My sister was also sedated, I think it was just over a week, because she had a blockage on her lung because she was in there for so long screaming for help.
“She also broke her finger and had some minor burns on her hand. The baby had a lump on his face with a bruise and a scratch, and obviously my partner then was very severe because he went through the fire itself.
“He had 72% burns and he had a fractured wrist as we’ve recently found out as well but he was put into a coma for quite a few weeks as well. He’s only just come round.”
Following the blaze, the family was rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Heath for urgent care, where they are struggling to process the aftermath of the tragedy. In its wake, they mourn the loss of irreplaceable mementos, lamenting “all our family photos”, along with the ashes of her late stepfather.
Alicia finds herself lodging at a Holiday Inn provided by the council, a situation that has left her feeling perpetually anxious due to continual fire alarms and unwelcome intruders attempting to barge into her room.
For 10-month-old Alec, the disruption has been especially difficult, leaving him habitually disturbed. She disclosed: “He’s struggling a lot with settling because obviously the place we’ve been put in is not very nice. He’s constantly being disturbed with the young children that are really loud, screaming, running up and down the corridors constantly.
Alicia Murphy and Jordan Payne are expecting another child (Image: Alicia Murphy)
“They bang on our door, they try and get in our room. So he’s always being unsettled. He’s struggling with a lot of his sleep and he’s being startled constantly – especially with the fire alarms that go off. They’re panicking him too.
“It’s just hard knowing that my babies, and obviously my partner with what he’s been through, we still don’t have a home to be able to settle into.
“I can’t prepare for my newborn child that I’m about to have in a few months because I have no way to be able to put anything for this new child. We’re in a tiny little hotel room. I can’t prepare for another baby in there either.”
Nevertheless, Alicia has now agreed to take up an offer for alternative temporary housing in one of the council’s family support accommodation units.